Welcome to Chef's Stirrings, Chef Magazine's monthly news highlights of what's going on in the foodservice industry and chef world. For daily news and online exclusives, please visit Chef's Stirrings blog.

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In this issue of Chef's Stirrings:

• Registration Now Open For Farm to Table International Symposium 2014 
• Applications Available for Les Dames d'Escoffier International Legacy Awards 
• Kendall College Student Team Wins Fifth Consecutive American Culinary Federation 
• Alaska Seafood Source Raises $8,000+ On Kickstarter
• Tito's Handmade Vodka Announces Partnership with Shiftgig
• Trapp Family Lodge welcomes Master Chef Arnd Sievers

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Sincerely,
The Editors, Chef Magazine

Registration Now Open For Farm to Table International Symposium 2014 
Registration for the Farm To Table International Symposium (F2Ti) is now open HERE.
F2Ti will be held in New Orleans,August 2 - 4, 2014. The annual event brings together the leading practitioners in the burgeoning farm-to-table movement to explore the cultivation, distribution, and consumption of food and drink sourced locally. The event is presented by the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, in partnership with the SoFAB Institute and the LSU AgCenter.

Food pioneer Michel Nischan will serve as Honorary Chair. Nischan is a restaurateur, award- winning cookbook author, media personality and food policy advocate in addition to his role as CEO and president of Wholesome Wave, a non-profit foundation dedicated to nourishing neighborhoods by supporting increased production and access to healthy, fresh, and affordable locally grown food for the well-being of all. A proponent of sustainable farming, local and regional food systems, and heritage recipes, Nichsan has long been a leader in the movement to honor local, pure, simple, and delicious cooking.

This year's theme, "The Process," will explore the best practices for urban farming, bringing products to market, sourcing locally, sustainability, the latest with the imposing Food Safety Modernization Act, and many other topics.

The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center's partnerships with the SoFAB Institute and the LSU AgCenter reflect an abundance of knowledge and expertise that will be showcased at F2Ti. SoFAB documents and celebrates the food and drink of all cultures through exhibits, programming, and a range of media. SoFAB is home to several entities, among them the SoFAB Center for Food Law, Policy & Culture, SoFAB Culinary Library & Archive, the Southern Food & Beverage Museum, Museum of the American Cocktail, and SoFAB Media. The LSU AgCenter is a part of a nationwide network of research-based extension offices within the land-grant system of universities and provides innovative research, information and education to improve people's lives in Louisiana and the world.

The August Symposium will take place in tandem with the Louisiana Restaurant Association's 61st Annual Foodservice & Hospitality EXPO, an event featuring related exhibits and attracting food and beverage professionals from across the country.

For information on exhibiting, please contact F2Ti Trade Show Sales Manager Will Webre at 504- 582-3072 or wwebre@mccno.com.

Applications Available for Les Dames d'Escoffier International Legacy Awards 

Imagine working side-by-side with a top caterer in Seattle, helping with the grape harvest for the oldest continuously operating, family-owned winery in California, or experiencing farm-to-table initiatives on a farm in Hawaii. These opportunities and others are available to women working in the food, beverage and hospitality industries through the 2014 Les Dames d'Escoffier International Legacy Awards.

Established in 2009, each LDEI Legacy Award offers a one-week workplace experience to non-Dame women in the US, UK and Canada. Award recipients will work alongside some of the culinary and hospitality industry's top women professionals, all members of Les Dames d'Escoffier (LDEI), an international organization of women leaders in food, beverage and hospitality whose mission is education and philanthropy.

Applications are available online at ldei.org. Deadline to apply is April 21, 2014.

Six awards will be offered in five categories: one each in Culinary, Pastry, Wine, Food/Wine Journalism and two experiences in Farm-to-Table. The professional experience programs include:

• Culinary-Catering with Lisa Dupar, Lisa Dupar Catering in Seattle. 
• Entrepreneurship-Pastry for Production with Shari Carlson of Dessert Dreams, Dallas. 
• Wine with Carolyn Wente, Wente Family Estates in Livermore, CA. 
• Food/Wine Journalism at Good Housekeeping Magazine with Susan Westmoreland and Sharon Franke, New York City. 
• Two Farm-to-Table with Judith Winfrey, Love is Love Farm, and Charlotte Swancy, Riverview Farms, in Atlanta. And one on the Big Island of Hawaii with Lesley Hill and Wailea Agricultural Group.

Award winners will be reimbursed for airfare and hotel accommodations for six nights for up to US $2,000. Winners will be announced in early June and experiences must be completed by October 20, 2014.

"This is a unique opportunity for Legacy Award winners to work side-by-side with outstanding culinary professionals," said LDEI president Beth Allen. "During the week, they may help with the harvest at one of California's oldest family wineries, experience in-depth learning of tropical fruit on the Big Island of Hawaii or assist in a food photo shoot for Good Housekeeping magazine. Or they could brush up their cake-decorating techniques in Dallas, further their catering expertise in Seattle or get their hands dirty on two farms in the Atlanta area.

Kendall College Student Team Wins Fifth Consecutive American Culinary Federation 

The winning 2014 ACF Central Regional Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl team (l. to r.): Dina Altieri, CEC, CCE, team coach and chef instructor; Michael Lanzerott; Alexander Gabrielson; Jeremy Noga, team captain; Molly Anderson; and Frank Hutman.

A team of five students enrolled in the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts' associate and baccalaureate programs beat nine other teams on March 18 to win the Central Regional Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl at the American Culinary Federation's (ACF) 2014 Central Regional Conference in St. Louis, Mo.

This is the fifth consecutive year that a Kendall College team has swept this annual regional competition to qualify for finals. Besides the trophy, each student on the 2014 team received an ACF gold medal.

This year's team, comprised of Molly Anderson (Rockford, Ill.), Frank Hutman (Mokena, Ill.), Alexander Gabrielson (Pella, Iowa), Michael Lanzerott (Forest Park, Ill.) and Jeremy Noga (Orland Park, Ill.), competed against student teams from foodservice-training programs at postsecondary schools throughout ACF's Central Region stretching from Minnesota and Michigan to Texas and Louisiana.

Team captain Noga, who represented Kendall in the ACF's regional Knowledge Bowl last year in St. Louis, is pursuing his bachelor's degree in culinary arts, as is team alternate Lanzerott. Anderson, Gabrielson and Hutman are pursuing associate degrees in culinary arts; Anderson, who graduates from Kendall College in June, is additionally earning her associate in baking and pastry arts.

As regional champion, the Kendall College team will compete for the national title against the finalist teams representing the ACF's three other regions onJuly 27 at the ACF's 2014 National Convention in Kansas City. Among the four regional finalists, the team with the highest score will be named the national ACF Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl winner for 2014.

"We are extremely proud of the students who excelled so admirably in the Central Regional Knowledge Bowl in St. Louis to earn Kendall College a win for a fifth year in a row," says Renee Zonka, RD, CEC, CHE, dean of the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts, who was on hand with team coach and chef-instructor Dina Altieri, CEC, CCE, to support the Kendall team. "Their hard work and dedication to preparing for this year's competition was remarkable."

Alaska Seafood Source Raises $8,000+ On Kickstarter 

With Oceana studies showing how "In the US, 80% of seafood is imported, and one-third of seafood is mislabeled," Alaska Seafood Source has developed a simple, clear, and straightforward seafood distribution system for consumers. Through Alaska Seafood Source, consumers are provided a direct way to purchase wild-caught seafood that is traceable back to sustainable fisheries. Our customers are continually connected to the fisherman that harvest their food through our website blog and social network sites with articles, letters, photos and videos. Unlike store bought fish, Alaska Seafood Source is able to guarantee that the seafood YOU are eating is free of dyes, chemical processing, and is sustainably wild-caught.

The Alaska Seafood Source operation is three fold:

• Ships certified sustainable Alaskan caught crab, salmon and halibut directly to the costumer's front door using reusable packaging materials.
• Connects consumers directly to the fishermen who caught their seafood to ensure full disclosure about the origin of their seafood.
• Teach our customers about healthy and sustainable seafood, so they can make educated purchasing decisions that drive the marketplace.

Alaska Seafood Source is poised to become a driving force in the Ocean to Table Movement. In order to do so, the company will need to purchase a 350 square foot industrial grade walk-in style freezer, high-quality reusable packaging materials, horizontal-flow vacuum packaging machine and supplies as well as commercial grade scales. To support the efforts of Alaska Seafood Source a fundraising campaign has been started on Kickstarter. This campaign can be viewed at kickstarter.com.

Alaska Seafood Source provides direct access for customers to purchase seafood from sustainable and wild-caught fisheries.

If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Craig Kasberg at (907) 321-9121 or email at akseafoodsource@hotmail.com.

Tito's Handmade Vodka Announces Partnership with Shiftgig
Tito's Handmade Vodka, America's original craft vodka, is proud to announce their new partnership with Shiftgig, the largest online community for the service and hospitality industries in the country. Tito's Handmade Vodka and Shiftgig will launch a 12-month program, beginning March 24, 2014, that will seek out worthy recipients of Children of Restaurant Employees (CORE) services. CORE is a charitable organization funded by donations from food and beverage operators, suppliers and distributors. 100% of the funds raised are used for children of the hospitality industry's workforce. "We feel strongly about supporting our community and the challenges of many restaurant employees who have children suffering from life-threatening conditions," said Eddie Lou, CEO of Shiftgig. "We're proud to partner with Tito's Handmade Vodka and CORE to support this important cause." To kick off the program, Tito's Handmade Vodka is making a direct donation to CORE of $15,000. The official presentation of the check will be held at the VIBE Conference 2014 (March 25-26), the industry's #1 forum for top-tier on-premise executives and their supplier partners. "We are thrilled to be included in such a worthy endeavor. It's nice to give back to an industry, which gives so much to all of us, every day. Cheers," said Tito Beveridge, Founder and Master Distiller of Tito's Handmade Vodka.

Tito's Handmade Vodka is and always has been 100% American-made and produced in Austin, Texas. It was the state's first and oldest legal distillery, and is one of the fastest-growing micro distilleries in the country. Tito's Handmade Vodka continues to be a privately owned liquor brand developed by Tito Beveridge and can be found within the United States, Singapore, provinces in Canada, many of the Caribbean Islands, as well as through United Airlines and American Airlines. The slow, six-times distilled vodka is called one of the smoothest vodkas on the market by the country's top bartenders, and was awarded a score of 95 by Wine Enthusiast.

Shiftgig is the service industry network, the premier online community where members connect with each other and businesses to access informative and funny content, jobs, and industry deals. With over 750,000 registered members and 17,000 businesses, Shiftgig has become the largest online destination for people in the restaurant, nightlife, hotel and retail industries.

For more information about Shiftgig, visit shiftgig.com.

Trapp Family Lodge welcomes Master Chef Arnd Sievers 
The Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont, long known for its distinguished culinary heritage, welcomed European Certified Master Chef, Arnd Sievers as Director of Food and Beverage early this month. Sievers comes to Trapp Family Lodge with a wealth of experience, having trained at the Bavarian Hotel and Restaurant School. He has held Executive Chef Positions in a variety of hotels worldwide, and most recently, he has been a fixture here in the region, having worked for the Mohonk Mountain House and Spa in New Paltz, NY, The Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in Burlington and The Essex Culinary Resort and Spa.

Chef Arnd—as he is better known—is also the recipient of numerous culinary awards including a Chef's Excellence Award from the Culinary Institute of America, AAA Four Diamond Award for Hotel Restaurant in 2013, gold and silver medals from the Société Culinaire Philanthropique, a Chef's Hat Award for best Hotel Restaurant and ACE Award for outstanding achievement as Executive Chef.

In his new role, Sievers hopes to "be a part of the Trapp family legacy and give a high quality of service to customers while following in the established Austrian and American culinary traditions." He looks forward to being part of a dynamic team, and feels very strongly that, "A leader is nothing without a great team at his side."

When not in the kitchen, or behind the scenes ensuring a flawless dining experience, Sievers can be found spending time with his two sons: Max, 20 and Ben, 16, or training for an upcoming adventure race. He resides in Jericho.